Suchergebnisse

As universities and governments seek to prepare the next generation of diplomats to manage international affairs, they finally have a teaching tool focusing on the practical knowledge and skills that in the past could be learned only on the job. Edited by Nicholas Kralev, founder of the Washington International Diplomatic Academy, Diplomatic Tradecraft brings together 18 career ambassadors with decades of experience to lift the curtain on a mysterious but vital profession, and to pass on the insights and abilities they gained to those who will succeed them. Beginning with an overview of diplomatic institutions and protocols, the text considers the key attributes of diplomatic communication and negotiation, as well as core specializations including economic, consular and public diplomacy. With compelling narratives, case studies and exercise scenarios, the chapters on various aspects of diplomatic practice form a cohesive and comprehensive volume, written in an accessible and engaging style.

The European Court of Human Rights has decided in the last three years five cases dealing with state or international immunities.1 Although the facts differed, the arguments of the applicants were much the same. They contended that allowing a foreign State or an international organisation to claim immunity in a civil action in proceedings in the defendant State violated the applicants' rights to access to a court for the determination of a civil right.2 The European Court accepted the claims in principle but concluded in each case that the limitation imposed on the right of access was for a legitimate reason (the protection of State or international immunities, a condition for effective co-operation between States or with international organisations) and was proportionate to this aim, because in each case, the grant of immunity was required by international law and that in each case there was the possibility of the applicant using another procedure to try to assert his rights, action in the courts of the foreign State or under the special staff regime of the international organisation.

The government of Pnompenh has suddenly decided to break diplomatic relations with that of Bangkok. This gesture concludes a long quarrel which had scarcely broken out during the period of the French protectorate of Cambodia.Siam, now Thailand, used to consider Cambodia a vassal state, and for a long time all the diplomatic latitude that was allowed the Kings of Cambodia by their two powerful neighbors, the Emperor of Annam and the King of Siam, was the privilege of acknowledging themselves, in turn, as proteges of the one in order to fight the other.

Summary
This article introduces the concept of diplomatic peace. It starts by developing a heuristic frame for identifying understandings of peace embraced by the actors we study. This frame encompasses three faces of peace — restraint, compromise and polylogue — and further differentiates different degrees of each of these faces (induced, co-operative and categorical restraint; profitable, principled and iterated compromise; extended, communal and deliberative polylogue). Then, this heuristic is applied to key United Nations General Assembly declarations and conventions that have passed unanimously since 1946. Studying how diplomats define peace yields remarkable results. Diplomats make far-reaching promises about the kind of peace they purport to pursue, strongly endorsing co-operative restraint, principled compromises and deliberative polylogues. The added value of this article is threefold: it systematically enquires into the nexus of diplomacy and peace, develops a multifaceted concept of peace, and reminds scholars and practitioners of how far-reaching already existing diplomatic promises of peace are.

No longer content to fade away into comfortable retirement, a growing number of former political leaders have pursued diplomatic afterlives. From Nelson Mandela to Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton, to Tony Blair and Mikhail Gorbachev, this set of highly-empowered individuals increasingly try to make a difference on the global stage by capitalizing on their free-lance celebrity status while at the same time building on their embedded ?club? attributes and connections.In this fascinating book, Andrew F. Cooper provides the first in-depth study of the motivations, methods, and contributions made by these former leaders as they take on new responsibilities beyond service to their national states. While this growing trend may be open to accusations of mixing public goods with private material gain, or personal quests to rehabilitate political image, it must ? he argues ? be taken seriously as a compelling indication of the political climate, in which powerful individuals can operate outside of established state structures. As Cooper ably shows, there are benefits to be reaped from this new normative entrepreneurism, but its range and impact nonetheless raise legitimate concerns about the privileging of unaccountable authority.Mixing big picture context and illustrative snapshots, Diplomatic Afterlives offers an illuminating analysis of the influence and the pitfalls of this highly visible but under-scrutinized phenomenon in world politics. Andrew F. Cooper Professor of Political Science at the University of Waterloo.